Your Home Business Roadmap

Tips, Opinions and Advice For Home Based Entrepreneurs

Managing Your Online Reputation. How’s Your Rep On The Net?

February 15th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

How Are You Managing Your Online Reputation?

A fellow blogger posted the question the other day “Do you know what others are saying about you?” The post discussed ways to search Google and web 2.0 sites to see what, if anything, others were saying about you. The worry being that a person who wished to disparage you could easily do so and you wouldn’t know anything about it.

What if you do find negative comments about you or your business online? How should you handle your online reputation?

I can see three options. You can rebut the comment and attack. Second, you can choose to ignore the comment and move on. Third, you can try to deal with a situation privately. I’m a fan of the third option, a quiet resolution. Engaging in a war of words in a forum or on a blog will only make the issue worse. Once you post a rebuttal, it gets indexed and turns into one more search result in Google. Further, clicking on sites that have negative comments about you only helps to strengthen the site’s rankings. Worst, now that you have chosen to fire back, the other party has a great excuse to continue saying whatever they wish. I think that’s a no-win in almost every case. I suppose you could be witty and say something that made the person look completely foolish but that’s a low percentage play that can easily make things worse.

The actual reason for this post is to suggest a more proactive way to approach the issue. The best way to manage what people find when they search for us is to output our own high-quality content about ourselves in the form of articles, press releases, videos, comments and any other creative ways we can think to express ourselves. You should completely OWN a keyword search on your name. Filling the first few pages of Google with your own content greatly reduces the need to worry about the squeaky wheels who may have less than positive things to say about you.

I have found that article marketing, in particular, are a great way to create dozens or even hundreds of hits for your name.

Taking a proactive approach to your online reputation management will also help with your overall credibility. Someone who is considering doing business with you will undoubtedly Google you and what they find should only reinforce their decision to do business with you.

In a home business, you ARE THE BRAND. Why leave your online reputation to anyone else?

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in Marketing

Tags: online reputation online reputation management reputation management web reputation management

Animoto – Video Creation For Your Business That’s Dead Simple

February 11th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

Animoto - I Don't Think It Can Get Any Easier

You can’t read a single blog “how to” post anymore without someone telling you to make a video to promote your business. Fine. I’ve finally run out of excuses with the discovery of Animoto.com. If you can find your video and photo files on your computer, then you can now make a video to be proud of.

I had registered and finished creating my first video inside of 10 minutes. The biggest challenge is choosing which videos and pictures to use. I even got to pick out my own music to accompany it.

The service is free for videos up to 30 seconds in length. For a $25 annual fee, you can make your video as long as you want. Quite a bargin if you want more flexibility to make your video “just so.” Hi-resolution video is also an option.

As you can see, it’s easy to embed your video into your website or blog. The service has plenty of sharing features for video promotion so you can upload it to YouTube, Facebook or any number of other services. They even have an app for the iPhone.

I’m sure there is stuff that’s not included that an experienced video editor would complain about, but for those who wouldn’t normally spend the time to figure out how to create their own video, you can now create something that looks polished and ready for prime-time.

Here is my first effort. As I said, this is about 7 minutes work. Imagine what you could create with more time! Go to www.animoto.com to open your account.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in Technology

Tags: animoto how to make a video make a video online video creation video creation video promotion

Entrepreneurial Traits – Make A Decision Then Make It Right

February 8th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

Relax! It's Just A Decision.

What’s so hard about making a decision?! Yes or no; left or right; buy or sell. But, what if we’re wrong? Being wrong sucks. Being wrong makes us feel like idiots. But, is that the end of it? Not at all.

The worst thing you can do is agonize and procrastinate when making a decision. The mental energy wasted here is a tremendous drain on your creativity and motivation.

When a decision needs to be made, what do you do? You weigh the pros and cons using the information that you have. The next move is to make the decision and move on.

Successful entrepreneurs make up their minds quickly and change their minds slowly. Unsuccessful people make up their minds slowly and change their minds quickly (quote – Andy Andrews). Can you see how one way is powerful and forward-focused and the other is basically aimless and timid?

No one is perfect. You’re going to make the less advantagous call on occasion but that’s just where the work begins. Sometimes, we have to make a decision then go about making it right. First, take a step back and evaluate. What did your decision effect and what is it going to take for you to make it right or even to take advantage of the situation? It may take A LOT of effort to make it right but doing so makes you at cause in your life and a very powerful person.

Don’t worry if you’re not good at this right now. Practice. Like everything you do, it’s a habit but luckily you have many opportunities every day to get better at it.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in Productivity, mindset

Tags: entrepreneurial mindset entrepreneurial traits mindset of success successful entrepreneur successful entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial Traits – Start Thinking On A Bigger Scale

February 4th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

Start Thinking Bigger Than You Are Used To

Successful entrepreneurs think about things on a bigger scale than most are used to. This is something I see all the time in network marketing and it is purely a mindset issue.

For example, a new associate learns about new way to advertise their business. Their version of taking action is to place one ad and waiting to see what happens. What do you think happens? Before you know it, their upline is getting a call with a complaint that they aren’t getting results. If we pull the curtain back on the upline’s business for a moment, we’ll find that they placed the same ad but they placed it in 50 or 100 different places. The results are predictable.

To get massive results, you must take massive action. Think bigger than maybe you’re used to. Don’t go and blow your annual marketing budget in a single shot but think about how you can leverage what you have.

For instance, say you have written an article about lead generation with a link back to your capture page. You could submit it to ezinearticles.com and hope for a stampede of traffic. But, how many other ways can you deploy that article? Here are just a few ideas:

1) Use an article submission service to get your article into dozens of article directories

2) Make a press release out of it

3) Use it to create a video using PowerPoint

4) Use the audio from your video and turn it into a podcast

5) Tweet a link to your article

See the difference? We’ve gone from a link on an article about lead generation to a multi-media push that has the potential to go viral. This is just one article. What if you wrote 10-20-30 more? Now we are thinking like a big-time entrepreneur! Massive action equals massive results.

Be the entrepreneur who goes the extra mile and does what other people don’t want to or are uncomfortable doing. That’s where the big results lie.

You might also be interested in these previous posts on entrepreneur mindset and entrepreneurial traits.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in mindset

Tags: entrepreneurial mindset entrepreneurial traits mindset mindset of success network marketing

From Employee To Entrepreneur

February 1st, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

It's More Than Getting Your Name On The Door!

Question: If you think about your enterprise for a minute, are you still using an employee mindset to run your business?

Being a successful entrepreneur is a mindset, plain and simple. Of course, there are a lot of details too, but if you want to call your own shots then you have to be willing to take full responsibility for your actions and results. That means taking full credit when you win and facing the music head-on when you lose.

For most of us, this isn’t how we were raised. Personally, I was taught the classic employee mentality. Get a job with a steady company, keep myself out of trouble and work my way up the company ladder. That was my formula for “security.”

Investing in your business, taking calculated risks, making decisions quickly – do these concepts make your stomach queasy? For me, breaking out of an employee mindset has been the single most difficult thing to do. It’s been a long, and sometimes uncomfortable, process of taking an active role in my own life.

Rather than taking what comes to me, I now focus on going out and getting what I want. That has meant developing my goals, planning how I will achieve them and figuring out how to execute those plans. What a long way that is from carrying out your assigned work until closing time every day in exchange for a cost of living raise and two weeks vacation!

Everyone develops their own playbook, but these are the things that I do to help keep me in an entrepreneurial mindset:

- I make up my mind quickly and change my mind slowly (credit Andy Andrews)

- I review and visualize my goals every day

- I avoid the news media. Joining Tom Brokaw in wallowing in the world’s ills makes me tired and depressed.

- Learning from successful people I admire in my personal life, in history and in business

- Remembering what motivates me to be an entrepreneur in the first place. In a word, Freedom.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in mindset

Tags: entrepreneurial characteristics entrepreneurial mindset entrepreneurship mindset

Entrepreneur Traits – Consistency Through Mindset

January 29th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

: Cal Ripken Never Missed A Day Of Work In 16 Years

I wrote earlier about what I felt was the most important of entrepreneur traits – consistency. After talking to a few people about the post I decided that I could be even more specific.

If I had to pinpoint the cause of sluggish growth and stagnancy in home businesses, especially among newer business owners, I would say that it is due to emotional inconsistency.

When someone is first getting started, the emotional highs and lows can throw you for a loop. Every victory is a cause for a celebration and every setback derails your enthusiasm for a week. Emotional consistency must be mastered in order to stay in the game long-term.

Go ahead and be passionate about what you do, just don’t become emotionally invested in the outcome. This may sound counter-intuitive but it’s really not. The truth is that you are going to fail more often than you will succeed, but that doesn’t mean you won’t ultimately be successful.

You made 20k this month from a great new affiliate product? Great. You spent $1,000 on a new ad that produced no leads? Fine. Being an entrepreneur means taking calculated risks and learning from your mistakes.

You’re not like other people you know anymore. You are an entrepreneur now! If you don’t know exactly what that means, then find out. The sooner you internalize that and own it as your new mindset, the sooner you can really make huge strides toward your goals.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in mindset

Tags: be consistent consistency entrepreneurial mindset entrepreneurial traits mindset mindset of success success principle

The Last Google Adwords Tool You’ll Ever Need

January 27th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

: Adwords Content Network Simplified

I’ve been using Google Adwords content network for about two years now and in the beginning it was a seriously un-fun experience. One of my first posts summarizes those escapades. First with the search network, tweaking this and that, searching for clues and tips with mostly middling to poor results. I was paying anywhere from $15-$20 per lead. Basically, working my way to the poor house.

Enter MyGoogleTool. Not another “system” or “Adwords secrets” book, MyGoogleTool is a full-featured, detailed and complete education on successfully using the Adwords content network. Once you harness the power of the content network, your reach extends to places you never could have dreamed. My ads appear on sites like CNN, Forbes, NYTimes.com and others.

Adam, the tool’s creator, breaks down each aspect of the content network process, explains it, gives suggestions and even shows his own work which he uses to get leads for $2.50 each or less. The impressions, clickthroughs and leads that I got on the very first day blew my mind.

This product is web-based so there is nothing to download or have delivered. Also, with all of the recent changes to the Adwords rules, MyGoogleTool has rolled out a huge update to take advantage of it.

Google loves giving fague and mostly unhelpful tips and information. Guessing while spending money every day is frustrating, to say the least. After applying what I learned from this tool I reduced my per lead cost to $5 on average. Often much less.

I only mention products on this blog that I have used myself and this is probably the best of the best in my toolbox. Full disclosure, I think so highly of this product that I became an affiliate. If you are determined to conquer Adwords but haven’t had results you want, then I highly suggest you get MyGoogleTool immediately.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in Technology

Tags: Adwords adwords training adwords tutorial content network Google Adwords pay per click PPC

Use What Works And Leave The Rest

January 26th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

You What Works For You

Entrepreneurs should always be learning and applying new ideas. Doing so allows you to learn new technologies and concepts before the masses of marketers arrive on the scene and it marks you as a leader and innovator. However, there are a couple of potential pitfalls that I wanted to mention.

It’s a whole lot easier and more comfortable to research than it is to implement, but unfortunately, research doesn’t pay. The “research syndrome,” in which you find your income going down because you are spending too much time researching on the internet and not enough time on your income producing activities, is easily avoidable. Just set aside a defined amount for time for this and stop when the time is up. This should be part of your DMO (Daily Method Of Operation) that you created when you started your business.

Regarding the second issue, a mentor once told me that when it comes to learning you should “take what you want and leave the rest.” I take in a lot of information but I can’t possibly assimilate it all. So I listen and I pull out little nuggets of information that make sense for me and I let the rest go. We are all different and different things will resonate with each of us.

The truth is that I’ll definitely come across the same information in the future and maybe another piece of it will strike a chord with me and I’ll use it. By taking what makes sense to me and continuing to move forward, I’m not stuck trying to wedge myself into someone else’s idea when it may not work as well for me.

Ultimately, I will have pieced together my own system that is perfect for me which I can continue to build on.

I talk in greater detail about developing your DMO in this earlier post “Anyone Can Be A Marketing Millionaire For A Day.”

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in Productivity, mindset

Tags: entrepreneur training entrepreneurial mindset entrepreneurial traits mindset

Something Good To Write Home About

January 21st, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

: Heifer International

About two years ago, I pretty much gave up on the news, both print and online. It seems that there is absolutely nothing life-affirming or positive to report on. Maybe that doesn’t sell. I don’t know.

Anyway, I have something positive that I can pass along. It just so happens that it happened in my own life. I’ll try not to get too “Dear Diary” on you. My daughter, 7, decided that she wanted to help those less fortunate than her. A nice sentiment and I would have been happy with that. The little do’er that she is, she made plans to make it happen. She made a goal of raising $520 in 2010 for Heifer International, a non-profit that provides livestock and the necessary training to successfully care for it to people in impoverished communities around the world to help them sustain themselves…the contract that recipients enter into also includes “passing on the gift” by giving the first offspring to another member of the community thereby helping to lift entire communities out of poverty and onto the road to long term wellbeing. The $520 my daughter has committed to raise will buy 1 heifer and 1 flock of chicks.

Encouraged by her recent success selling her own jewelry designs during the holidays, she held a jewelry show at a local coffee shop and this past Saturday, she raised over $200 toward her goal of $520 for the year! She went from idea to execution in two weeks! When a child sees something that they want they are naturally blessed with the lack of doubt, anxiety or indecision. What an unexpected example set has set for me!

I’m pretty sure I have the most awesome daughter in the world. If you would like to help her toward her goal or would like to know more about it, visit http://www.trishthackston.com/miarose.html.

Share and Enjoy:

View Comments »

Posted in mindset

Tags: entrepreneural mindset entrepreneurial traits media fast success mindset

Entrepreneurial Traits – Be Stubborn In the Right Way

January 20th, 2010 by Trish View Comments »

Which Kind Of Stubborn Are You?

I always heard that the most successful entrepreneurs were stubborn people. Hearing that always made me think, “Hell, I am really stubborn. Who knows how many millions I’ll make!”

It turns out that you have to be willing to be stubborn in the right way.

On closer inspection, the leaders that I was able to spend time with were stubbornly persistent, consistent and optimistic. Their lives appeared to work like a well-tuned machine that hummed along day or night. The truth was that they experienced all of the same trials and tribulations as everyone else, and more. They became rich because they refused to quit or compromise their integrity in the face of obstacles.

I’ve run into a lot of stubborn people. A lot. Unfortunately, most are stubbornly pessimistic, fearful and reactionary. These people are entrepreneurially dead in the water before they ever get started. For the average employee, becoming an entrepreneur requires significant shifts in mindset. Their stubbornness against trying new things, accepting new ideas and changing their own self-perception quickly leads to their entrepreneurial demise.

For better or worse, none of us are perfect. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m far from it. But, I strive every day to practice an entrepreneural brand of “stubborn” by relearning good habits and spending a little time every day on my own personal development.

Sometimes a little self-reflection can be just the thing to uncover the cause of roadblocks in your life. Which kind of stubborn are you?

Share and Enjoy: